Canadian Health System Evaluating Abdominal Wound Closure Tech

Nearly one in five open abdomenal procedures in the United States are left intentionally open for further treatment and later closed, but 38% of these “fail to close,” according to industry data. Such failures require additional surgical procedures for sequential closure, increasing patients’ risks of infection, domain loss, and mortality, as well as bolstering ventilator time, attendant time, and OR time. These additional visits add a costly burden to the healthcare system.
 
With support from OBIO through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN), Alberta Health Services (AHS) is working with Ontario-based InventoRR MD to evaluate AbClo, InventoRR MD’s flagship device for closing an open abdominal incision without surgery. By offering a non-invasive method of closing an incision at the patient’s bedside, AbClo improves patient safety and experience, while freeing up OR staff for other procedures.

“OBIO is pleased to support this EAHN evaluation, the first with Alberta Health Services,” OBIO President/CEO Dr. Maura Campbell stated. “The collaboration provides InventoRR MD with the real-world setting to test its technology and help encourage broader adoption of AbClo in Alberta, and utlimately across the Canadian healthcare system.”
 
AbClo works like a corset, supporting and stabilizing the abdominal wall to prevent damage and restore the equilibrium of the muscles in the torso. It can be applied in the intensive care unit, where it is sequentially tightened at the bedside so that the edges of the abdominal wall can meet in the middle for reattachment. While prescribed by a physician, it can be applied and monitored by other authorized healthcare providers, such as nurses.
 
“AbClo was developed to improve patient outcomes and make the post-surgical process easier for medical teams. We appreciate the opportunity EAHN has given us to work with the AHS on this evaluation, and the potential to expand our footprint in Alberta,”  InventoRR MD CEO Chris Bass said.
 
InventoRR is a medical device company bringing market innovations built by clinical teams and researchers.
 
OBIO—a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization—is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through its Early Adopter Health Network to provide solutions. OBIO is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies.